Welcome to Nothingness
by Lord Nocato
Summary: Light needs to work things out with all the people whose lives he's screwed up, but is this really how to do it? L x Light main. After the end fic. Spoilers!
1. Whiteness

_Hope you enjoy my stupid Death Note after-the-end __fic__. Warning: probably spoilers for the end of the series. __Probably.__ (BTW, this is based on the __**anime**__, not the __manga.)_

Welcome to Nothingness

(**L/Light,** Light/Mikami, Mello/Matt, L/Mello)

By Lord Nocato

His chest suddenly felt worse than before. Along with the excessive bleeding from the gunshot, Light's heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. "A… a heart attack?!" he gasped with his last breath—and his body went limp.

And there was L. Standing there, before Light's eyes, was a dead man, with his thumbnail in his mouth as usual. Just… staring at him. "Are you going to keep lying there all day, Light, or do you plan to get up sometime?" he asked.

Light gawked. "You're dead!"

"So are you."

Light sat up. All around was eerie whiteness, boundless as far as the eye could see, and empty, at that, except for a sign a few yards from the two. Light squinted at it. As he read it, L narrated out loud, "Welcome to Nothingness".

Light stared. "Nothingness?" he said, stupidly.

"That's right," said L. "Nothingness. Your brilliance never ceases to amaze me, Light." Light, sensing sarcasm, frowned at L. So this is where people went when they died. Nothingness. He stood up, and as he did, he noticed the floor was soft. "…clouds?" he pondered aloud. But no, he knew clouds were made of hydrogen—they were not solid enough to walk upon. L continued to stare at him with his blank, unblinking eyes. Once Light got himself straightened up, a puff of the same material as the ground hovered over to him, with a sheet of pale yellow paper on it. He stared at it, confused.

"Take it," urged L. Light frowned, and took the sheet of paper from it. He read it.

It read:  
To: Yagami Light  
Welcome to Nothingness. We hope you enjoy your eternal stay. You have just found yourself at the main entrance, we presume, with a person you know. This person is educated in the way of Nothingness, and will assist you in learning how to use it if you choose to do so. Let us explain a few things, beforehand. Our name is The Voice. If ever you feel the need to tell things, The Voice will listen to you. Also, the material you now stand upon is known as White Matter. It is the power of Nothingness, and forms everything and everyone in Nothingness. Again, we wish you to have a terrific eternal stay, and remind you that if you have any questions, the one who met you at the entrance will answer them swiftly and accurately.  
-The Voice

Light stared, mouth open, for a few moments, and looked up at L, who was still emotionlessly watching him. "Why… why _you_?" he asked, flustered.

L frowned. "Am I not good enough?"

"It's not that… but, er," Light put his hand through his hair and sighed. "You… you should absolutely despise me. I am—I _was _Kira… I was your enemy… I'm the reason you're dead!" Light looked desperately at L.

L blinked. "You were also my friend," he said, and smiled. Light blushed. He was startled that L could possibly still think of him in a positive manner after all he had gone through to deal with him. L shifted his feet. "Why should I worry about things that happened in life?" He looked down at his toes. "I'd rather spend an eternity with a friend than an eternity with an enemy." Light gaped. He was still bewildered, but all the same, he glanced at the piece of paper again, and back up at L.

"So would I."

After folding and pocketing the sheet of paper, Light looked around at his surroundings, white as far as the eye could see. "So… what exactly do you _do _here?" he inquired. L peered around at the whiteness.

"Whatever you want," he stated simply, shrugging. Light frowned, not quite getting it. "For me," started L, but before he decided to finish his sentence, a cloud of White Matter floated towards him, a silver plate under a piece of angelic-looking white cake, frosted and topped with a strawberry upon it. Next to it was a petite silver fork. L took the objects and began to eat the cake.

"Did you will that to happen?!" Light gasped.

L nodded. In-between bites of the heavenly cake, he said, "As I told you, Light, whatever you_ want_." He put the fork and empty plate back upon the cloud and it floated back away to nowhere. Licking his lips, L smiled. "You can eat all you want and never get full, unless you want to," he said. "A lot of things are like that here. You can stay up for days and never get tired, but you can sleep whenever you want."

Light pondered this for a while. "So, besides eating unhealthy snack foods, what have you been doing for the past… years?"

L tilted his head. "When I wasn't in the world of the living, watching my forces continue to be tricked by you, I was here, talking to other dead people…"

Light had a sudden thought, "My father!"

L stared. "Yes, I talked to him as well. He is rather disappointed in you."

Light's mood dropped. "It figures."

"Would you like to go see him?" asked L.

Light looked at the eternal whiteness again and asked, "How would we _find_ him?"

L smiled. "Do you _want_ to find him?"

Suddenly, Light and L were in a hallway of white walls, a white ceiling, and a white floor, going straight forever on either side of them. Every few feet or so was a grey door labeled with a name. Directly in front of Light was a grey door with a name in golden scripted kanji, Yagami Soichiro. Light looked over at L. "Why are you here, too?"

L ignored the question. "You must knock." Light scowled at the avoidance of his question, and knocked lightly on the door. Absolute silence, for a moment, and a peephole appeared in the door. It disappeared half a second later, and the door opened slowly.

Soichiro stared out at his son, a mix of anger, sadness, and love on his face. Light didn't know what to say. Soichiro, at a loss of what to do, tears in his eyes, finally decided, and embraced his son. L stared at the scene intently, obviously not getting the feeling that it may be unwanted for him to do so.

"Light, my son, oh…" sobbed Soichiro into Light's shoulder.

Light took a breath before saying, "I know that 'sorry' will never be enough to apologize for my actions, father, but I truly hope you can someday forgive me."

Soichiro paused, still holding Light to him. He sniffed.

"Light," he said in a quavering voice. "I've talked to L a lot since I got here, and he's helped me to realize this—you don't need to be forgiven. You already are." Soichiro squeezed Light a little harder, making Light realize with a grimace that one still feels pain—like having your breath hugged out of you—in Nothingness.

"What a pussy," said a voice out of nowhere. "Of course he isn't forgiven—no matter what, _I'll _always despise Kira." Soichiro released Light and the two looked over to where the voice was coming from—beside L. There stood Mello, sporting his usual girly black attire, a chocolate bar, and Matt by his side. Matt removed the burning cigarette from his mouth and flicked off the ashes. Light glared in disgust.

Matt smirked. "There's no lung cancer in Nothingness," he laughed, sticking the rolled tobacco back in his grinning orifice. Mello continued to pierce Light hatefully with his grey eyes.

Light frowned, but before he could say anything, L had tapped Mello atop the head gently, saying "You shouldn't say such things, Mihael." Mello glowered at L, but said nothing.

Light sighed. "Any other interesting additions to this group I should be warned about?" he asked. Soichiro looked around. L looked around. Light looked around. Matt flicked his cigarette, and Mello took a bite of his chocolate. A spontaneous "no" sounded.

"_Yes_," said a calm voice.

Light turned around quickly. "M-mikami!" he gasped. And there he was, Teru Mikami, arms folded, unhappy sneer upon his face, a tiny bit of tears in his eyes.

"Forget about me already, _God_?" Mikami asked, with a hint of abhorrence in his voice. "You are the reason I am dead—you got me into deep shit, _Kira_." Mikami strode forward, grabbed Light by the front of the shirt, and pulled him towards himself, his face but a half an inch away from Light's.

Light gulped. "Mi-"

"Shut up." Light shut up. L, Soichiro, Mello, and Matt all watched, unmoving. Mikami was staring Light straight in the eyes, trying to figure out how to put his feelings into words. Finally, he came up with "You _owe_ me." Light glanced over at the others. His father was wringing his hands, glaring hatefully at Teru. L, as usual, seemed to have no emotion showing, but was watching attentively, with his head cocked to the side. Mello was leaning against the white wall, munching chocolate, having decided he didn't care. Matt was absentmindedly smoking and reading names on doors. Light fixed his eyes back on Mikami's.

"I… I'm sorry. I deceived you," he said, somewhat anxious. He saw tears well up in Mikami's eyes, and was thrown backwards, where he hit a soft wall, and fell to the floor, trembling.

Soichiro jumped to the fore, yelling "Bastard! Don't touch my son!" Mikami turned and barely avoided a fist to the face. He looked stricken and baffled at the attack, and in the moment where Soichiro was regaining his balance and turning to attempt a hit on Mikami, Light shouted "Father, please don't!"

Soichiro paused. Everyone, including Mello and Matt, looked down at Light with curiosity.

"He's right, he's so right; I destroyed so many lives while I lived. I deserve to be in Hell—no, somewhere far worse than even that. Mikami has every right to beat the dead shit out of me," said Light, somewhere between crying and talking.

Soichiro looked at him, desperately. "Don't say such thin-" but he was interrupted by Mello, who broke in saying "You owe him? I guess that would make you his _bitch_, now, then," with a snicker. Light stared at Mello, wide-eyed. L stared at Mello, wider-eyed. Soichiro stared at Mello, eyes so wide, they looked as if they would pop right out of his head. Matt laughed. Mikami scowled at Mello, but when Light glanced towards him to see his reaction to this, he could swear it was forced.

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that," said L, after he finished staring at Mello. He walked over to Light, crouched down, and hugged him. "Light here is already _my_ bitch."

_Lawl. __More to come.__ I told too many people about this and they all wanted to read it, so I'm cutting it off here. It's __gonna__ get better next chapter. And by better I mean gayer. __Ohyes._


	2. Wordfight

_Ahhh__, yes. __Another chapter. __So tiring.__ I tried __my __bestest__ to make the paragraphs correctly spaced this time! Forgive m__e__ for any mistakes! And enjoy!_

Inside of Soichiro Yagami's Nothingness room, with its White Matter walls, sat Light, L, Soichiro, Mello, Matt, and Teru Mikami.

For a while after L's odd statement, nobody had said anything, but simply gaped at L. Light had been blushing profusely, and much to his embarrassment, it appeared as if everyone noticed. After a few moments of awkward silence, Soichiro had cleared his throat and asked everyone if they'd like to go sit down. As Light walked into his father's room, L still clung to him.

And so it was, the group sat around a tea-table; Light being clutched mercilessly by L's lanky arms, Mikami sitting to the other side, staring with an eerie tint of jealousy in his shining eyes, Soichiro looking down at his lap, sweating nervously, and Mello leaning back in Matt's lap with his feet on the table. Watari, who had been in Soichiro's room (conversing with Soichiro) before Light and L got there, was serving tea calmly, apparently oblivious to the unease around him.

Soichiro stirred as Watari poured him another cup of tea. What L had said was running through his head endlessly—it led him to think; did his son have a relationship with the great detective L? It couldn't be, though, could it? Light had had girlfriends before—that proves he isn't _gay_, doesn't it? He glanced quickly at Light, being clasped by L. With a heaving sigh of confusion and frustration, he looked back down at his lap.

Light nudged L with his elbow. "Let go of me, will you?" he sighed.

"No," said L.

"Why _not_?" Light asked.

"Because," said L, hugging Light to himself tighter, "I'm not going to let that psycho lawyer have you." Mikami growled. L stuck his tongue out at him.

Mello yawned, and pushed himself up to standing. "C'mon, Matt, let's blow this joint. This shit's getting lame," he said, walking to the door. Matt stood up, too, and turned to leave.

L called goodbye after them. "Have fun," he said, eyes wide, as usual.

Mello turned his head and blinked at L. "W-what does _that_ mean?!" he asked, flustered.

"Nothing," said L, simply. Mello looked uneasily at L for a second before leaving. As he closed the door behind him, Mello looked worriedly at Matt. "D'you think he knows?" he asked. Matt shrugged.

"I dunno. Probably. L knows everything, doesn't he?" Matt said, pulling a pack of Nothingness-brand labeled cigarettes out of his pocket. "Does it matter? He told us to have fun, after all," said Matt, sticking a new cigarette into his teeth. He put an arm around Mello and grinned. "Let's go have _fun_."

Mello smirked. "_Let's_."

Inside of the room, Mikami continued to glare resentfully at Light and L. Watari sat in the spot previously occupied by Matt and Mello. Light sighed. "L, please, this really is, um, uncomfortable." He nudged L again, trying to make him let go.

"Make _him_ go away, then," said L.

"I am going _nowhere_ until you let go of G-" Mikami paused, "Kira."

"Why's that?" asked L.

Mikami leered at him. When he really thought about it, he wasn't very sure, himself. But for some reason, seeing this annoying disheveled man cling to the person he formerly_ worshipped_ bugged Mikami to no end. Somewhere inside of him, Mikami knew he couldn't be too angry at Light, no matter how hard he tried. Thinking about it, he would almost suppose he had feelings for him! But, no, that's strange. Then again, so is this other man clinging on to his former lord like a desperate octopus…

Mikami pounced on the couple. Soichiro gasped, falling backwards in surprise. Watari sat still and sipped tea.

"Uwaaah! What are you _doing_, Mikami?!" shouted Light, now being squashed between Mikami and L.

"_Mine_," said Mikami.

"No, _mine_," said L.

"No, _mine_, you freaks! Get off my son!" said Soichiro, smacking his fists upon the table. Mikami, Light, and L stared at him.

"Sorry, father. Um, I'll take care of this, okay?" said Light. He could swear if Soichiro weren't already dead, he'd be having a heart attack. Light tried to stand up, unsuccessfully. "Get _up_," he commanded his two assailants. The three stood, simultaneously, and walked out of the room, Mikami and L sharing a collected glare.

They had walked out into blank Nothingness, instead of the hallway, because as Light walked out, that's what he had desired. With a forceful shove, he got the two men off of him. "You two! Seriously, what the hell? I feel bad enough as it is, without you two completely embarrassing me in front of my father! Do you know what he was probably thinking of me?!"

L nodded. "I know quite well, Light. Just as planned," he smiled.

"_As planned_? What are you trying to make of my God?!" Mikami yelled, and then smacked his hand over his mouth. "…I mean! Agh!"

"Hah! You still think Light's a God? You idiot, do you realize where we are?"

"Of course I do! I slipped—it's, um, habit."

"Uh huh."

"It is! Gah! I… I hate him! He's no God!"

"If you hate Light, then why won't you leave?"

"…um," Mikami couldn't think of a response.

Light stared at the two men. "I am _so_ confused," he said, putting his face in the palm of his hand. "What on Earth are you two even _talking_ about?"

L and Mikami looked at each other, and then at Light. Together, they said, "I love you."

Light gazed emotionlessly at the two guys, mouth open as if to say something. But nothing was said until a few minutes passed, when Light said, stupidly, in a daze, "…what?!"

"I love you more," said L, calmly.

"Fuck off, and go brush your hair. I love him more!" growled Mikami.

"Didn't you just say you hated him?"

"I changed my mind!"

"Yeah, right!"

"Besides, he obviously likes me more! I served Kira like a dog!"

"And that's what you are. A dog. Go lay down, I've known Light longer than you—I've spent more time with him than you'll ever dream of."

L and Mikami were holding each other by the collar of their shirts, faces only centimeters apart, baring their teeth like rabid mutts. In fact, Light almost thought they both seemed like dogs now, as they growled and argued, he was almost expecting them to start biting at each other's jugular veins.

"Why would G—er, Ki—no, Light? Why would Light want to be with some creepy-looking guy who looks like he's never even heard the term 'hygiene'? Seriously! You look like the closet-monster from a little kid's nightmare!"

"I may _look_ like a creep, but you_ are_ one! At least I don't go around worshipping murderers!"

"His cause was just! You don't want to be with an _evil __murderer_, right? So beat it and leave us 'bad guys' alone!"

"I forgive him!"

"Well I do, too!"

The men continued to growl at each other. Light began to wonder if they even remembered he was there. Then again, this was somewhat entertaining to listen to…

"You prissy attorney! What do you know about anything?! Guess what? I was _handcuffed_ to Light for a while. We _slept_ together, beat that!"

"L, you're, um, making it sound like…" Light tried to voice his concern over the statement, but utterly failed. His admirers appeared not to even acknowledge his existence.

"Oh, what_ever_! As if! You slept with him—and that's all, you slept! Don't make it sound like you've seen his—"

"I have."

Mikami stared.

Light stared, too, except his eye twitched a few times. "WHAT?!" he hollered. "When the hell-?"

L looked at Light with a smile. "I've been watching you." Light shuddered.

"Bastard, keep out of K—Light's personal space!"

L turned back to Mikami. "Beat it, dog-man. Light's mine."

"Y-you wish!"

Light sighed. "Okay, that's enough. I should probably get this through to you guys before you try to re-kill each other. I like _girls_, not guys."

Mikami looked as if he were suppressing a breakout of bawling, either from L's harassment, Light's new remark, or a combination of them both. L frowned at Light. "That's because you haven't opened up to it yet." He released Mikami's shirt and turned to Light. "Care to try something new?"

Mikami ran to Light, and stood in front of him, facing L. "You won't… you won't lay a hand on my Kira!" His hands were clenched tightly in fists at his sides, and tears were beginning to come up in his eyes. His body shivered out of sheer frustration. L stared at this, curiously, with his thumb to his lips. Light was absolutely fascinated by the amount of loyalty Mikami still showed him, even in death. But even more than that, he was fascinated with how nice Mikami's hair looked from the back. It was so perfect—even after all this action. It was so long, so shiny black…

"…Light?" asked L, tilted over on his feet to see behind Mikami. Light's eyes were unfocused, he appeared to be daydreaming. Mikami turned to see him, too, snapping Light out of his trance.

"What just happened?" asked Light.

"You tell us," said L.

Light thought. "Teru has pretty hair. I'm jealous."

Mikami blushed, a little embarrassed, and yet happy at this strange compliment, and the fact that Light just called him by his first name.

L made a face. "Seriously? I think it makes him look like a wannabe girl."

Mikami scowled. "You're just jealous, too, because you don't even_ try_ to look good!"

Light sighed. "Can you two just stop it already? Look, let's all be friends, okay? I'll try to spend an equal amount of time and attention to you both, but you have to promise to stop _yelling_."

Mikami nodded vigorously. L chewed on the tip of his thumb. "Okay, fine."

"Great. Now, I'm worn out. I'm going to my room," Light said, noticing that the White Matter around him was darkening to a grayish night-time mode.

"Can I come, too?" asked Mikami, lightly tugging on Light's sleeve, like a needy child.

L glared at him. "Hey, no way, that's not fair."

Light sighed again. "Fine, Teru. You can stay with me tonight."

L took Light's other arm. "But!"

"You can tomorrow night, if that's what you want," Light said.

"Why does he get to go first, though?"

"He asked first! Geez, you two are acting like spoiled children!"

Mikami bowed. "I'm sorry, Ki… Light."

"I'm sorry, too. You're right," sighed L.

"Good," said Light. He finally felt like things were going more his way. "See you tomorrow, then, L," he said.

"Bright and early," said L, narrowing his eyes at Mikami, who was pawing at Light's sleeve. "_Bright_ and _early_."

Light and Mikami disappeared, off to the hallway of doors.

_Teehee.__ I like how this is going. Do you? I've always wanted to write an argument like this. You don't think it's getting too OOC, do you?! __I think I put a lot of my own personality into this. __Especially Mikami, because he's acting… exactly like I do. __EXACTLY.__ It's probably a bad thing to do to his character, but…  
Actually, L's acting a lot like me, too. Shit, this IS incredibly OOC, huh? Ah, well. ..._

_Hoping to update again soon!_


	3. Pathetic Acts of Desperation

_Oh boy. Have fun._

Light and Mikami stood now in the hallway of infinite doors, this time before Light's door. Light gazed up at the golden kanji for a second and looked over at Mikami. Mikami frowned at Light.

"Your name is spelt oddly," stated Mikami, candidly. "It uses the kanji for moon, or month, but is pronounced 'light', a reading not usually associated with it."

Light nodded. "I always liked being unique," he said, smiling, and opened the door. As they walked in, though, Mikami was thinking more about Light's last name, which had the kanji for 'god' in it. He shook his head. He must get these things out of his head—Light is no more than himself, a simple human. A dead human.

The room was small, white, and empty but for a puff of White Matter floating delicately in the center with a note upon it. Light walked over to the puff as Mikami leaned his back against a soft white wall beside the door. Light picked up the note. It read:

To: Light Yagami  
If you received this note, you have just entered your room for the first time. Congratulations; welcome to your new home. This is your own personal abode, to be entered only by you and those whom you allow. If you desire somebody's absence, they will be dispelled from your room until given further permissions. This room is presented for your privacy—this is the only place in nothingness that nobody but you can teleport into. Now, into more important things… like decorating! You may decorate however you _wish_—there is absolutely no limits. You may create as many rooms, stories, and square feet as you desire—any furniture you can fathom will be yours. Also, anything in your home can be changed whenever you want. Happy decorating!  
-The Voice

Light stared at the italicized "wish". This obviously meant that, like everything else, all he had to do was think about it. He folded the note up and put it into his pocket, his hand brushing against the one he received upon his arrival.

Light looked around. All of a sudden, the room became larger—causing Mikami to fall backwards as the wall pulled away from him. Light laughed.

"I'm sorry, I probably should have given warning before doing that," he said, offering his hand to the surprised Mikami. Mikami refused Light's help and got up by himself.

"It's alright," he said, quietly. Light continued to look around. The room dimmed. A king-sized bed with a dark wooden frame, forest-green sheets and a black comforter appeared against the walls in the top left corner of the room. A small bed-side table appeared beside it, a simple lamp upon its top. Light sighed. "It's plain, sure, but all I really feel like doing right now is sleeping. I'll elaborate later," he said. He looked curiously at Mikami. "Why is it you wanted to come here with me?" he asked.

Mikami looked at him, blushing slightly. "You know—I'm not all too sure." He knew coming here would lead to nothing… but when he thought of Light, all Mikami could see was L, clinging… possessing… Mikami shuddered. If he couldn't have Light, then neither could L! Although, it'd be nice if he _could_ have Light…

Light climbed into the large bed and sat in it on the side adjacent to the wall. He looked across to the other side of the room, and a window with dark green curtains appeared on the wall. It showed out into dark nothingness. Light shrugged and cuddled down under the covers, facing the wall. Then, he rolled over and stared at Mikami, who was still standing in the same spot. "Would you like to sleep with me?"

Mikami swallowed. He wasn't sure what to say. He knew by 'sleep', Light actually meant 'sleep', but the common use of the term kicked him in the brain. Mikami was primarily tempted to say he'd be honored, but reminding himself that Light was not superior to himself, he ruled that option out. "Sure," he said at last, and strolled briskly to the bed, uncomfortable. Light rolled back over and faced the wall once more. Mikami noticed that Light was now wearing cotton pajamas—a button-up, long-sleeved top with a pocket on the breast, and elastic-waist pants of a matching gray color. Mikami tried to tell himself it wasn't all that cute, but the blush on his cheeks said otherwise. Shrugging, he thought himself into similar comfortable attire—his, instead, navy-blue. He removed his glasses, and placing them on the table beside the lamp, climbed in to the bed.

* * *

_This part starts at the beginning timeframe of the last part—so these two sections are essentially happening at the same time, '__kay?_

L stood before a door in the eternal hallway, labeled with a name in roman letters: Mihael Keehl. He knocked. He heard a stir inside of it, and the door was opened by Matt, who grinned broadly and let L in.

The room was decorated in such a way as it might be mistaken for some Gothic church. It was black, ornamented with elaborately-designed crosses, and lit by large unscented wax candles and torches. L had been in Mello's room before, so it wasn't new to him; however, the first time he visited, he was startled by Mello's eccentric taste (and Christianity, even after being delivered to Nothingness in his death). L knew, also, that through one of the doors leading from this room was a hall, which led downwards, to a fascinating room that L preferred to ignore the existence of… a dungeon, which gave the impression of a torture chamber of sorts.

Ignoring strange thoughts of what uses Mello might put that room to, L waved to the owner of the abode, who laid on his side upon a black sofa, munching on a bar of chocolate, a game controller if front of him. Another one was on the floor before him—presumably that is where Matt had sat before getting the door. A wide-screen television showed the pause-screen of some video game the two had been playing.

Mello waved back, bemused. "To what do I owe this visit?" he asked L.

L sighed. "That psychotic attorney has stolen Light for the night, and I didn't want to be alone."

"You could have gone to Watari. Surely he's a much better host than us," said Matt, sitting back down in front of the sofa.

"Yeah, but he's an old guy. You two are more fun," L said.

Mello laughed. "Sure. Wanna play?" he asked, offering up a third controller. He moved and sat up as L walked over and sat in his odd way on the now-available area. Matt lit a cigarette.

"I'm gonna own you both," Matt said, serious.

L frowned. "What are we playing?" he asked as Mello reset the game.

Mello shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, does it? I suck at everything. But I think Matt gets his kicks out of beating helpless unskilled people."

"Damn straight," laughed Matt.

L smiled. "I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson, then, won't I? I'll kick your butt for being so treacherous to poor, innocent Mello."

"I hope you don't mean literally—I'm still sore from last time Mello got mad at me," Matt said, rubbing his hip with a scowl. "He's not as poor and innocent as you act like he is!"

"I am, too. My steel-toed boots, however, are not," said Mello, deciding to use Matt's shoulders as a foot rest.

"Let's do this shit," said Matt.

"Bring it on," said L.

"Whatever…" sighed Mello.

* * *

Mikami did not sleep. He stared at the back of Light's head in the dark. It was somewhat blurry, seeing as he had his glasses off, but all the same, Mikami was lost in the thin brown strands. In reality, he wasn't actually concentrating on the hair as much as using it as a place to keep his eyes as he thought.

Mikami was attempting to devise a plan. What could he do to keep L away from Light?

But more importantly than that—which of them had a better chance with Light? Light had stated indirectly that both of them had equally no chance of being more than friends with him, but Mikami was sure that could be changed.

The irritating desire to please his lord kept interrupting Mikami's thoughts, and every time it did, he had to repeat in his head, _he is human. He's like me. He's NOT a god!_Why did this obsession keep butting in? He knew the truth, so why did his heart keep trying to lie?

Light stirred, popping Mikami out of his contemplations. Light muttered something in his sleep. Mikami listened curiously, trying to make out what it was Light was saying. Suddenly, Light rolled over, and hugged Mikami to himself. Mikami stifled a gasp—he could tell Light was still sleeping, and did not want to wake him, but…

Unsure of what to do, Mikami faintly moved, testing Light's grip on him. It was quite firm—Mikami obviously wasn't going to get away for a while. He sighed. Barely an inch from his face was Light's. Mikami took this moment to observe Light's uncanny perfection. His pores were wholly clean—his face was clear of any flaws. His eyes, nose, and lips were all shaped and placed faultlessly. His eyebrows were vacant of any stray hairs. Light's hair fell beautifully over his forehead, even while lying, and after the rolling he'd done. Mikami frowned. He knew that his hair kind of did this as well, but on Light it seemed much more impressive.

Light began to mumble again. Mikami strained to hear. All he got out of it was "…uk…fnote...vl…mmmn…kami…true…" Mikami stared, confused. Light mumbled again, this time, "Sorry…vl…no…lv…I…" Light began to look frustrated. Mikami blinked. Light's grip on Mikami became tighter.

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve any of it," he said, clearly. Mikami frowned. What is it Light doesn't deserve? What could he possibly be dreaming of?

"I don't deserve your…mmn…" Light muttered, and was quiet once more.

Mikami was entirely curious. "What don't you deserve?" he asked, not completely aware he did so aloud. Light did not stir. A few moments passed, and Light murmured again, "their love."

Mikami smiled. Of course. Light felt guilty because of L and himself, and their feelings for him. Mikami's outlook on this matter was ambivalent, however. Should he be happy that Light feels bad, or should he be miserable for _making_ Light feel bad? Mikami became annoyed.

_This keeps happening to me_, he thought. _These dilemmas… why can't I get out of this useless god-complex?_ He sighed. Light's grip loosened, and Mikami dozed off.

* * *

L sighed. "I lost… again."

Matt flicked his cigarette into a black lacquered ashtray on the floor next to him. He smiled. "Told ya I'd own you."

Mello tossed his controller to the ground. "Fuck you, Matt. You _always_ win."

L stared down at his toes. He thought of the great array of things that could be going on in Light's room right now. Out of all the possibilities available, L really hoped the one happening was the one where they were just asleep—nothing more. He sighed. Mello looked over at him. He knew L must be miserable, but Mello wasn't all too familiar with the sort of feeling L had at the moment. After all, Matt was always with him, Mello never really had to worry that he was abandoning him for somebody else.

Matt stood up and stretched. "I'm going to bed," he said, staring at Mello. Mello glowered up at him.

"Go ahead."

Matt frowned, and narrowed his eyes. Mello stuck out his tongue. Matt swung down and kissed Mello on the cheek—Mello failed trying to push him away before he could.

"Eeeew… Matt cooties." Mello wiped off his cheek and smirked at Matt, who smiled back before walking off into one of the mysterious dark hallways. L watched him leave, curiously.

"Has he even been to his own room yet?" L asked.

"Yeah, and I was with him. He just stocked it full of every nerdy thing known to man. Anyways, he usually just stays here—what could he possibly have to do that would be more interesting than being with me?"

L shifted his feet and sighed.

Mello looked at L, sympathetically. Much as he tried, Mello could not imagine Matt not liking him back. In life, Mello was often left alone at night as Matt had one-night stands with random women to get things out of his system, but Mello always knew Matt would come back and tell him how much he missed him. So in a way, Mello partially understood. He scooched over and hugged L.

"No matter what happens, L, you're always welcome to come here."

L felt tears begin to well up in his eyes. Mello squeezed him tighter.

"C'mon, L. I have a special bedroom set up especially for you," said Mello, standing up and gently tugging on L's hand. L stood, and walked wordlessly behind Mello into the dark hallway in which Matt had disappeared.

Several doors into the hallway was a white door (this was quite noticeable, as all the other doors were constructed of dark wood) with a spotless golden knob. Mello opened it, the door swung silently into a perfectly clean white room, darkened by lack of lighting. Inside was a curtained white bed with down pillows and comforter. Shimmering translucent veils draped over the bedding, pulled back to create an entry at the left side of the bed. In other places in the room were two small white loveseat sofas, and upon the walls were several art pieces L had favored in his life. A window on the wall showed a beautiful view of the dark nothingness outside—a span of different shades of gray that swirled and combined in a mysteriously puzzling way. L looked around. He noticed the floor was carpeted with soft white rug unlike any his bare feet had ever felt.

Mello escorted L to the opening in the bed's veil. L sat in the bed and looked up at the fascinating sparkly shroud.

"Pretty," he said.

"Matt said it looked gay. But I liked it…" Mello said, shrugging.

"I like it, too," L said, smiling at Mello. Mello blushed, and L did something that not even he could find an explanation for—he pulled Mello to him and kissed him.

Mello's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't resist in any way. L's hands went behind Mello and pulled him gently onto the bed—before Mello knew it, L was on top of him. Slightly startled (and not being able to breathe), Mello tried to voice his protest, but through L's unending kiss, all that could be heard was "Mmff—!"

Mello was happy; and yet, afraid. In life, he often had dreams similar to this situation—he absolutely adored L! Everyone in Wammy's House did. But Mello always felt more than just admiration for him… but now? Mello felt as if he was betraying Matt. What if Matt randomly decided to walk by? The door was still ajar—if he glanced in… what would he do? Matt loved L, too (maybe not to the extreme that Mello did) so would he simply deal with it, or would he become jealous, and angry? Mello squirmed, and made another noise. He pushed up against L's chest with the palms of his hands—attempting to get him off.

Releasing Mello from the snog for a moment, L skillfully gathered both of Mello's wrists with one hand and forced them above his head. Kissing him once more, L began to slide his available right hand down Mello's front side, slipping easily down into the crotch of his pants. Mello squirmed again, tried protesting, but to no avail. L's legs kept Mello's firmly down into the top of the mattress, and his strong left hand had a circulation-cutting tight grip. Mello could not escape it. L's right hand played with what it found in Mello's pants.

"Mmmmff! Mmmn!" Mello continued to try and snap L out of whatever odd condition he was in, but nothing could stop him now.

Mello melted—no longer did he try to get away.

* * *

_(Timeskip—appr. 3 hours)_

At the time that on Earth would have been around 2:00 am, Light awoke to find himself frighteningly close to Mikami in bed. He observed the situation calmly. It appeared as if sometime in the night, he had embraced Mikami in his sleep—Mikami had obviously either not noticed, or just knew what was good for him, as his arms remained lain in front of him rather than around Light. Light released Mikami and sat up. He looked out the window—it was still dark.

He leaned back against the headboard. Light had been having an odd dream: Ryuk had come to Nothingness and asked Light if he wanted to use the Death Note to kill off the pesky men with their freak attraction to him—and Light had refused. In his dream, Light had told Ryuk that he actually liked them both back. Then, L and Teru appeared—they told him he had to choose between them. Light began to cry then, saying he would pick neither, because he didn't deserve either of them…

Light understood now why he had wrapped himself around Mikami in the night. Contemplating his dream, Light realized it—he _did_ like them both back. L and Teru Mikami… he had feelings for them both, and feared having to choose only one of them.

Light sighed, and Mikami stirred slightly. Light glanced at him in worry, but Mikami did not awaken. Light stared at the sleeping man. He looked a lot different without his glasses on. His dark hair was somewhat mussed about upon the pillow, and even in his sleep, Mikami looked stern and serious. Light laughed quietly—it was almost cute, seeming so very solemn while you slept. Light watched the blanket rise and fall with Mikami's breath, and wondered. What was it Mikami dreamt of?

But Mikami's sleep was without dreams—it wasn't even sleep. Mikami lay, fully awake, listening to Light's movement curiously, while acting as if sound asleep. He had awoken with the initial movement Light made, because since he had dozed off, he slept uneasily, his mind unable to accept the fact that he was in bed with Light and not _doing_ anything.

Light stared at the wall, lost in thought… what was L doing right now?

* * *

In Mello's special room slept L, dreaming of strange things. In the room in which L, Mello, and Matt had been playing video games sat Mello, unable to sleep. He stared at the blank television screen without moving for several minutes before standing, and walking noiselessly out of his Nothingness room.

_I have… no idea… what just happened.__ I was writing, and listening to music, and all of a sudden OH__-__GEE__-__LOOK__-__L__-__RAPED__-__MELLO__-__LAWL.__ I think my brain is broken, readers. I truly do._


	4. Back on Track

_I'm back! Sorry. __I've been spending my computer time working on a picture which is now on my __deviantart__ (which is set as my "homepage" if you check out my profile). __As for the story, all I have to say is this: To all you __kinda__ whiney __peeps__ out there; if you don't like it, don't read it, __y'know__? Enjoy! ...please._

Before it would have been morning time on Earth, L was awoken by frantic footsteps and a trembling groan traveling quickly in circles throughout Mello's entire abode several times over. L sat up in the pearlescent bed and stared at the door ahead while rubbing the side of his face. The door opened with a silent whoosh, and a desperate Matt's head popped into the room.

"L!"

"What's the matter…?" L asked, calmly.

"I can't find Mello anywhere!" Matt swallowed and began to chew his lower lip in worry.

L stared. "Did you try—"

"Yes, I tried warping to him! He's got a block or something…"

L looked at his toes and wiggled them. "Then he must not _want_ to be found."

Matt looked at L, an expression like that of an abandoned puppy on his face. "But…"

L stood up and walked out with Matt into the main room where the three of them had been playing video games. The blank television screen stared malevolently at L as he passed, and he turned and observed it. He frowned. In the dust on the screen an apology appeared to have been written with a finger.

Matt looked at it and gasped. "Why is the TV sorry?"

L's eyes widened as images suddenly flashed into his head of things that had happened earlier that night. He grabbed the side of his head and stumbled back onto the sofa. Matt stared at him.

What had he done? And why? L tried to remember what he had been thinking… and then it occurred to him—he had been thinking of Light, of course. And that damned lawyer. And what they were probably… L shuddered. But to do such things to poor Mello… well, sure, Mello wasn't exactly innocent. Heaven knows what sort of things he and Matt have done together; but they're in love, that's different! L glanced up at Matt, who was still standing, frowning down at L, hair in a ruffled mess, his eyes reflecting pure loneliness. It was as if L wasn't even there.

L blinked. "He'll come back." Matt sighed.

"But when?"

"Whenever he feels better."

"Why does he feel bad?"

L gazed at the television screen again. He didn't want to lie to Matt, but he also didn't want him to hate him. L hated himself right now as it was. L twiddled his toes again and sighed.

"He'll come back, Matt. He would never leave you, for anything… or anyone."

Matt gave a pathetic half-smile as tears welled up in his eyes. He sat down on the sofa next to L and pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. As he lit up a cigarette, L thought a bit. Mello had to come back. He wouldn't leave Matt. He couldn't. L had to leave, for their sake. He knew he was going to destroy their beautiful relationship if he stayed around. L yawned.

"How much longer until it becomes light out, do you know?" L asked.

Matt looked around. "I dunno. Probably a couple hours—only reason I'm awake is coz I usually wake up around four'o'clock for a smoke… and then I thought I'd check in on Mello, and…" he licked lips and moped.

"Four, huh…" mumbled L. He knew it began to get light in Nothingness around 6:30 am, and that was when he planned to knock upon Light's door. But how to pass the time…? L peered over at the agitated guy next to him. Matt was absolutely miserable, and the evidence was all around. L scowled, guilt stabbing at his chest.

"Would you like to beat me at some video games for a while until I have to leave?" asked L. Matt perked up a bit.

"Alright," Matt said, only a tiny smidgen of enthusiasm managing to seep through his angst.

* * *

The White Matter, now the dark grey hue of Nothingness "night" puffed silently under Mello's feet as he wandered aimlessly. There was nothing around, save himself and his thoughts. He kicked at the ground, watching wordlessly as a fluffy cloud of White Matter fluttered up and then gently landed and melted back into the earth. He sighed. He would have to go back eventually. Matt would become a zombie without him. But... 

Mello looked up into the sky. "What should I do?"

"Go back to him."

Mello stared, eyes wide, at the empty grey sky. Did it just talk back to him? He swallowed. "You mean L?"

"Go back to Mail. He is in dire fancy of your company, Mihael. That is what we think you should do."

Mello glowered. "But… what about…"

"It is in the past. If you feel the need for closure, tell that man how you really feel. Do not keep it bottled inside. You know what is best for you."

Mello pondered a while before saying "…You're right. Thank you."

"You are very welcome, Mr. Keehl. That is what we are here for. You can always look to us in your times of trouble."

"Oh! I get it now. You must be that Voice thing, then, right?"

"Indeed."

Mello smiled, but the coolness of this moment was brief, when he realized what he had to do. He has to go back and face up to L and tell him straight to his face that… Mello sighed, and put his arms behind his neck, looking around. There was nothing to be seen anywhere. He wondered if Matt and L were even awake yet. Probably not…

"Well, I guess… I'm going back now."

"We wish you the best of luck and happiness," said The Voice.

Mello closed his eyes and appeared before his own door in the never-ending hallway of doors.

* * *

Matt had fallen asleep sitting slumped on the sofa, a burning cigarette in the ashtray (though harmlessly, as uncontrolled fires could not happen in Nothingness). L sat, lost in thought, next to Matt, eyes fixed on the television screen, which was displaying a loop of the title screen of the video game they had been playing. Matt had rubbed the dust off in a circle, so the "I'm sorry" was no longer visible, but L's eyes could trace over the exact place each letter had been written. 

The handle on the door turned, and Matt bolted awake. L turned his head and stared in curiosity. The only people who could come in without knocking were Matt, L, and…

"Mello!"

Matt jumped from his seat and tackled Mello to the floor in the hallway with a loud thump.

"Agh! Get offa me, you big oaf!" whined Mello, though one could tell he was really happy. Matt lifted himself off and let Mello sit up. "That hurt, idiot."

"I'm sorry. But you shouldn't have just run off on me without warning like that. I could have had a heart attack. I could have died again."

"You died because you got shot a half a billion times, not of a heart attack."

"Whatever! Point is, I was fuckin' freaked out!" Matt shook Mello by the shoulders. "Where'd you go? And why… why couldn't I just go 'poof' and find you?"

Mello looked at the open door. "Let me inside, alright? I'll explain…"

"Oh. Yeah." Matt stood up and the two walked in. Mello glanced at L, who looked down at the floor, biting his lip.

Matt sat down next to L on the sofa and looked up expectantly at Mello. "So?"

"Ummm… well, I talked to The Voice…"

L looked up. "Did you? And what did it say?"

Mello scowled. "It told me what it thought I should do, and I think it's right."

L shifted his position. "Ah."

Matt cocked his head. "Did I miss something?"

Mello kicked the ground. "Sort of. I'll… I'll tell you soon. But right now…" He turned his attention towards L. "You."

L flinched. "…Yes?"

Mello took a breath. "I'm not gonna be your fucking rebound every time you get depressed about your stupid murderer boyfriend—I've got more important things to worry about," he motioned towards Matt, who looked confused and afraid, "and while I'm on the topic of Mr. Kira…"

L stared.

"It's about to become light outside. Go steal him away from his little minion lawyer. Go find your own happiness, L." Mello gave a weak smile. L frowned.

"I'm terribly sorry, Mello. I don't know what came over me."

"It's because you think too much."

"What the _hell_ is going on?!" whined Matt.

Mello strode to the sofa and hugged L. "Go get him."

"Thank you, Mello," said L, returning the hug and nearly crying. He didn't think Mello would forgive him, this was almost appalling.

L left, silently, and Mello turned nervously to Matt.

"So you gonna tell me what's going on?" asked Matt.

"First promise me you'll always love L, no matter what."

"What?"

Mello sat and hugged Matt. "I care about you most of all, Matt. But L is important to both of us, and I don't want there to ever be tension between any of the Wammy's House orphans," and then, thinking of his rivalry with Near, he added "… at least once they get here."

"Of course. I would never dislike L. Like everyone else, I always idolized him…"

"Okay," said Mello, and told Matt what had happened that night.

* * *

The moment the White Matter of Nothingness became white again, L knocked once on Light Yagami's door. It opened a crack from the impact, and L frowned. Did Light give L permit to his room like Mello did? He pushed it the rest of the way open, and shuddered at what he saw. 

"Good morning, gentlemen," L said loudly enough to wake the two, who were, as far as L was concerned, much too close in the bed. Light shifted and yawned, pushing himself to a sitting-up position.

"Oh. L, you came… right when it became light again," Light said, somewhat groggy. Mikami rolled over and grumbled, not especially wanting to acknowledge L's existence.

"Soooo…" said L, eyeing the scene as he walked in, "what did I miss?"

Light blinked. "Not much. We just came here, I made a room, and we went to sleep."

Mikami was putting his glasses back on when Light voiced his statement, and when he got to the "went to sleep" part, Mikami plopped his face back into the pillow.

"Aww. Just slept? That's no fun, is it, Mr. Lawyer Dude?"

"I have a real name, good sir. And no, I'm quite content, thank you. I don't require the trivial things you seem to be thinking about," mumbled Mikami, irritated, into the pillow.

"Hey, guys. Don't fight today—let's do something fun, okay?" said Light, getting out of the bed. He looked down at his pajamas. "Ooh. What should I wear?"

Mikami snickered into the pillow. Light looked at him curiously. "What? Do you have an idea? Change me then."

L jumped. "—that's a bad idea!" But before he could finish the sentence, Light was in a schoolgirl uniform, pink and white with a big red bow on the neck. Light frowned down at the miniskirt.

"I don't think pink is really my color," he said sarcastically, changing himself into less questionable attire.

"Oh, _that_ wasn't trivial," sneered L, as Mikami stood, fully dressed, tilting his head to the side in order to crack his neck.

"Just a bit of fun. I'm dead; I spent my entire life trying to dish out justice… maybe you should loosen up a bit, too… L." Mikami raised his eyebrow at L, who replied with a blank stare. Light watched, hopefully. It seemed as if Mikami was trying to be friendly with L, and that was a good thing… right?

"So! What should we do today?" asked Light. L looked at him.

"When you said 'let's do something fun', I assumed you had a plan…" L said, sighing.

"Oh… no, not really… sorry!" laughed Light. "Umm… how about… a game?"

"What game, though?"

L and Light frowned at each other.

"Badminton," suggested Mikami.

Light poked himself in the cheek. "Wouldn't we need another person, to even out the teams?"

"Yes, we would," said L, "but I'm assuming you have an idea of somebody who'll join us?" he continued, glaring over at Mikami.

Mikami laughed nervously. "Umm. Of course I do."

"Who is it?" asked Light.

Mikami thought for a moment. "Somebody the both of us will have to apologize to. But this person is very kind, and is another admirer of Light's, and will surely forgive and play with us."

L groaned. "Another one…?"

Light gasped. "You don't mean…?"

"Kiyomi Takada."

_Holy crap, guys. __A girl. __Omigoodness.__ And yeah, there was a lot of corniness in this chapter. XD __Wanna__ know why I'm bringing __Kiyomi__ into this? ...Because I wanted them to play badminton, but I didn't want to fill the extra spot with __Soichiro__ or __Watari__, and Mello and Matt need a break... and I couldn't think of any other good dead people.__ Aren't I so deep?_


	5. Game On

_Yeah, I wrote again. Whoopee. But if you guys keep begging me to write more like you have been, I'll start getting my sadistic pleasure from keeping you waiting for longer and longer periods of time until finally I just stop the story mid-way, just to disappoint everyone on purpose. Muhahaha. No, seriously. Stop whining. God. I'm totally getting sick of it. This chapter's gonna be boring anyway. Don't know what you're so excited about._

Kiyomi Takada sat quietly in her main nothingness room, which was decorated in modern-looking furniture. She was seated upon a flat sofa, legs crossed, in the middle of the room, with a cup of tea beside her, as she read a popular novel that had recently come out in the world of the living. As she flipped the page, she heard an unexpected knock upon her door. She looked up from the book, inserting a bookmark that had been on the couch beside her. 'That's strange…' she thought. 'Nobody has really visited me since I died.' The knock confused her, so she continued sitting, staring at the white door. There were no sounds.

"Who… who is it?" she called out, suspiciously, as she placed the book on the seat next to herself.

"Ms. Takada, please open the door…" said a familiar voice. Kiyomi gasped.

"…Light?" She jumped from her seat and ran to the door, but stopped in front of it, her hand hovering above the handle as she suddenly remembered… "Why… why should I?"

Light sighed, and turned around. "I guess we'll need to find somebody else to play badminton with us, then," he said, facing L, who stood behind Light and Teru in the hallway.

"Ooh, badminton? I love badminton," said Kiyomi from behind her door, and she opened it, just to gasp again, at the sight of another familiar face. Light turned back around, and he and Mikami simultaneously bowed as low as their anatomies would allow. L took this opportunity to stare at Light's butt.

"Forgive us, if you will," Light and Mikami said in unison.

Kiyomi looked at the two bowing men. "Oh… you're… apologizing…?"

They stood up. Light explained, "My mind had been corrupted in my lifetime, and in death I would like to repent and at least try to show the people who suffered and died because of me that I really am sorry. And you, Kiyomi, are one of the worst; I used you, more than once, as I did Mikami, who, in my control, did the same. For that we would like to apologize. Also, for, um, killing you."

Kiyomi stared. "What do you mean? I…"

"No, no. Death Note. I killed you… Mikami and I both wrote your name in our notes, same cause of death. I wrote it first and actually killed you, but we're both apologizing, because Mikami tried to kill you as well."

"Oh, my…"

Kiyomi, Light, Teru, and L all stood in silence for an awkward moment. L scratched his head, bringing Kiyomi's attention to him.

"I don't believe we've met?" she asked.

"Ah," L said. "Nice to meet you. I am L." He stared at her with his usual big, focused, black eyes.

"L! For real? The detective that was after K-" she paused. "So… why are you hanging out with Light, then?"

"I believe we have gotten over our differences."

"Oh, I see! That's very nice. Two former rivals, now close friends. It sounds like a fan-fiction."

"Don't be silly," said L, shaking his head.

"Kiyomi… you never did say if you would forgive us," said Light.

"Are we really going to play badminton?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Can I be on your team?" she asked. Teru and L flinched.

"Of course," said Light.

"Then I definitely forgive you guys. Now that I think of it, I'm going to have to apologize to that blonde man soon, after your example…"

L snickered. "Mello's not going to want to see you. I'm 100 percent sure."

Kiyomi frowned. "I can understand that…"

Mikami clapped his hands together. "Shall we get going, then?" he said, although in reality his enthusiasm was completely drained knowing he had to side with L on this upcoming badminton game.

"Yeah, let's go," said Kiyomi, cheerfully.

"Sure," said L, indifferently.

Light thought the group to a private court and the pairs went to their sides of the net. Rackets and a birdie appeared in the middle beneath the net, and Light retrieved them, handing a racket to Kiyomi, and handing two over two Mikami, who grudgingly passed one to L.

"We all know how to play, right?" asked Light.

"It's like tennis, isn't it?" asked L.

"Yeah, except a little slower-paced, I guess. We don't really need to follow the rules exactly, just hit the birdie over to the other side. I'll serve first." Light took his side of Kiyomi/Light half of the court and Mikami and L happily took their sides, glad to get away from each other.

"Um, Light. The thing is… I'm not very good at badminton…" admitted Kiyomi.

"It's alright, it's just a game, after all," said Light, smiling. Kiyomi smiled back.

"Okay."

Light served underhand, starting the game, heading the birdie off first thing towards L, who hit it back towards Kiyomi. Kiyomi swung, missed terribly, and the L/Teru side won a point.

"Ah—I'm sorry!" cried Kiyomi.

"We've got this game," sighed Mikami, almost agitatedly.

"As much as I dislike being teamed up with you, I admit I prefer it over being with her," said L, shaking his head as he watched Light comfort Kiyomi, who was apologizing fruitfully over her miss.

"So we aim to win, then?" asked Mikami.

"Is that not the point of most games?" asked L, in return. Mikami stared at L for a moment—the man was so hard to read; he almost never showed emotion, and when he did, it was almost always just sarcasm. He glanced over to the other side of the net. Light was done.

"Okay, sorry. Let's keep going. Ms. Takada's through having a mental breakdown…" Light said, rubbing his forehead in frustration.

Mikami turned back to L. "Let's do it."

"Let's," agreed L. The first thing they'd ever agreed on.

The birdie was served again, and the game advanced into the day.

* * *

As the white matter around them began to darken, the group decided to end the game. Team L/Teru was way ahead, 45 to 21 points.

"I give up," laughed Kiyomi. "I absolutely suck at this game."

"Yes, yes you do," agreed Light, dropping his racket next to the net, disappointedly. "We completely lost."

"I'm sorry," she said, surprised at his frankness. Kiyomi thought back to her life. She liked it better when he was using her; he seemed much kinder then. Now he was different, now it was obvious he had no feelings for her. Kiyomi sighed. Her hopes had risen when she had first heard his voice, but…

L glanced around at the darkening White Matter. Soon it would be… bedtime. It was his turn to be with Light tonight, and he intended to actually _do_ something. Mikami had failed, for reasons L did not know, but L was going to try and avoid any such things—tonight would be _his_ night. He clenched his fist in vigor. Kiyomi peered over at him. 'What a queer man,' she thought. She noticed his eyes fixated on Light, concentrated and unblinking… she shivered. What did this guy want with Light now anyway? Surely he had no reason to hang about, since the Kira case shouldn't exactly carry on after death… or were they really actually friends now? Could two people who used to desire so much to find and punish one another really just up and become friends, or was there something else going on beyond her range of understanding…? Could hatred have become adoration at some point? But that would be…

The white sky continued to darken. Light frowned. "Perhaps we should head indoors," he suggested. Kiyomi shook her head.

"Actually, I think I should be going now. Thank you so much for inviting me to this game, and for apologizing; it was really kind of you, Light, and Mr. Mikami, too. Mr. L, I do hope you'll bring me to Mr. Mello someday so I can tell him how sorry I am." She nodded and was about to think herself away when Mikami suddenly grasped her shoulder.

"May I accompany you?" he asked.

"What?"

Mikami glanced sideways at L, who was standing annoyingly close to Light and looking at Mikami with an unreadable stare.

"I have nothing to do tonight, and… you do seem to be rather lonely, after all."

Kiyomi frowned and blushed. "You're right—the only people who visited me when I died were my parents… Aside from them, you guys were the first to… I don't really have many… friends…"

"Let's be friends." Mikami grinned.

Kiyomi smiled shyly. "Okay. Sure."

She took his arm and the two disappeared, leaving Light and L in awe.

"What just happened?" asked Light.

L was silent. Was Mikami hitting on that woman, or just entertaining himself for the night? He bit his thumbnail in thought. Light looked at him.

"That's a bad habit, you know."

L looked at his hand. His thumbnail was stubby and uneven. He frowned—the things he worried about now seemed so much less important than the things he thought about in life. "It used to be a good one."

Light stared at him curiously for a bit before saying, "I want to visit my father before heading to my room tonight, where, I assume, you'll want to spend the night as well…?"

L lit up, "Of course. Teru got to." Light blinked. Did L just call Mikami by his first name?

"Um, okay. Let's go," said Light, and they disappeared from Light's badminton court, reappearing in the endless hallway of doors, in front of the door labeled Soichiro Yagami.

Curiously, L asked, "Why did you want to visit your father?"

Light scowled. "I'm not certain, myself. I want to talk to him about something, but what it is I'm not all too sure quite yet…"

L stared at him blankly. "Maybe this is some father-son connection I'm not aware of."

"Maybe."

Light knocked on the door once, but upon the first strike, the door opened itself—Light had free access to his father's room. He smiled, and walked in. L tried to follow, but was stopped, running into an invisible wall blocking the entrance. Light gaped at the scenario as L rubbed his head in discomfort.

"…Ow," mumbled L.

"I guess my father doesn't want you in here for some reason?" Light thought aloud.

"Not especially," said a voice from behind him. Light turned to see his father walking towards him, Watari close behind. He gave his father a hug, and Watari strode out the door to tend to L, who blew him off, asking instead for cake. Watari walked back in, to Soichiro's kitchen area.

"Why won't you let L in?" asked Light.

"I don't like him anymore, simple as that," answered his father, bluntly.

L frowned, sitting in his odd crouching position in the hallway, staring in through the open door. Watari returned, walked out and put a silver tray with a white strawberry cake on it on the White Matter floor beside L, as well as a small fork. L picked up the fork happily.

He shrugged. "That is quite fine. Although I'm curious as to why _Wammy_ is always with _you_, instead of visiting any of his dead, prized orphans," Watari and Soichiro both flinched at this statement, "the fact that he is has proven in my favor and therefore you are forgiven for your… misgivings. When you are done, Light, I shall be waiting for you in this hallway, ever so patiently." He finished by scooping a bite of cake into his mouth with the awkwardly-held fork.

Light nodded. "Alright. Thank you for understanding." Watari walked back in and shut the door, quickly striding away to some other room, before Light could ask any questions (and Light _was_ thinking about it, of course, now that L mentioned it.)

Light and Soichiro sat at the tea-table at which they had sat the day before with L, Mikami, Mello, and Matt. Light stared down at the floor, trying to figure out what it was he wanted to say. Soichiro waited. Finally, Light looked up at his father, a frustrated look on his face.

"What should I do?"

Soichiro looked baffled. "Concerning what?"

"I have a… problem," Light bit his lip.

Soichiro stared at him, and realized, "Oh… you mean, with those two bizarre guys and their obsessions with you?"

"Yeah, I guess. The thing is, Dad, I…" Light looked back down at the table. "I like them both back, too."

Soichiro accidentally inhaled his saliva and choked for a little while, Light stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Don't kid around, Light," said Soichiro, regaining his composure, clearing his throat one last time.

Light glared. "I'm serious!"

Soichiro looked at his son despondently. "I'm… not sure I can give very good advice in this subject matter, Light." So Light really _is_ gay…

"At least hear me out," said Light, looking miserably at Soichiro.

"Fine."

"I feel like I don't deserve either of them, but they're both so persistent that I don't know how to turn them down without hurting their feelings terribly… and I really don't want to be alone for the rest of eternity, but… that is what I… deserve, after all…" tears fell from his eyes, and Light buried his head in his arms on the table, crying. Soichiro lifted his hand, but pulled back, unsure of what to do. Watari, who had been listening in from a hallway not far from the main room, disappeared.

* * *

Watari reappeared in the never-ending hallway of doors, opposite L. L looked up from the mostly-eaten cake he was tending to.

"Yes, Watari?"

Watari bowed. "You have always been my favorite, L, and I love you like I would my own son. I only wish to protect your best interests."

L blinked. "…Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid I was eavesdropping on the Yagamis' conversation, and it would appear that young Mr. Yagami plans to reject both you and Mr. Mikami, though claiming to 'have feelings' for the both of you."

L frowned. So Light liked him back… but also liked the lawyer, and was planning to fix it by refusing the both of them? What a strange triangle he had involved himself in...

"Thank you, Watari, this is very valuable information. However, I suggest you do not listen in on other people's discussions when you are in their conviction, or you may lose that."

"Yes," agreed Watari, and disappeared.

* * *

Soichiro stood and walked to the other side of the table, where Light sat, crying. He kneeled down and hugged him. "You don't deserve to be alone, Light; nobody does."

Light raised his head. "I'm an awful person."

"You've done bad things, Light. But everybody has. Nobody's perfect. Sure, what you did was pretty big compared to the lifetime sins of some people, but a person's worth shouldn't be measured by the bad things they did in the past, but what they're willing to be at the present time."

Light sniffed. "So what should I do?..."

Soichiro looked up at the ceiling. All of his room looked like the interior of a house except the ceiling, which he hadn't thought about when he decorated; it was still White Matter.

"I guess… you have to choose. Something'll happen with one of them eventually that… maybe… either gives you leeway to choose the other or… makes you like one more than the other, you know what I mean?"

Light thought for a while. "I think so," he said. "So I should just… wait and see, then?"

"Yeah. Things will work themselves out on their own, Light. Just stop worrying so much and go with the flow—in the mean time, continue your nice little mission of apologizing to the people Kira negatively affected."

"Thanks, Dad. I will." Light smiled, and hugged his father back.

In the hallway, L finished his cake, and planned the night.

_Well, that's the end of this chapter. I bet you all can guess what's coming up next, but who knows when I'll get around to writing that…_


	6. Tonight

_I'm proud of you guys. I haven't gotten even one whiny "updatepllllzzzz" message. Congratulations. As a reward, please enjoy this chapter… I guess…? (On another note, I changed chapter 5 a little bit, after realizing a factual inconsistency while I was re-watching Death Note. It's not a big thing, so don't worry that you have to reread it.)_

The doorknob in front of him turned, and as the door opened, L looked up from his crouching position.

"Are you done with your visit already?" he asked, the information Watari gave him still running through his head.

"Um, yeah…" said Light, thoughtfully. "Sorry to make you wait."

"It's quite alright," replied L, standing up. "If that's all, shall we go?"

"Yeah, sure," said Light, frowning down at the white matter beneath his feet.

L tipped his head to the side. Was Light trying to procure a way to blow him off? L definitely couldn't allow that to happen… this was _his_ night with Light—it would be quite unfair if Mikami got one and he didn't. L smiled and took Light's hand.

"Well, let's go!"

The two disappeared from the hallway, and left Soichiro staring uneasily out the still-open door to his room. L was very bad at hiding his intentions… He sighed and the door closed by his will. As he eyed his tea-table in concern, Watari entered from the room he had disappeared to when Light came. He gazed down at Soichiro from beneath his bushy grey eyebrows.

"May I say something, sir?" Watari asked politely.

Soichiro looked up at him. "What? Sure. What's with the 'sir'?"

"Well, Mr. Yagami, that's just it. I don't call you 'sir' anymore." Soichiro raised his eyebrow.

"What's…"

"The thing is, by feeling the way you appear to, aren't you being, mind my language, a hypocrite?"

Soichiro blushed and looked away. "Yeah… I just… I didn't want my only son to be like this…"

Watari kneeled down beside Soichiro and embraced him lightly. "What's bound to happen will happen. You can't help who your son is. Just stop worrying, and let him find his own happiness."

Soichiro nodded. 'What the hell am I going to do once my wife dies…?' he wondered, returning Watari's hug.

* * *

Mikami sat beside Kiyomi on her sofa in her main room. They were talking only about Kiyomi: Her favorite books, her stalkers while she was a popular news reporter, her terrible fear as she sat naked in the back of a delivery truck while the man she murdered sat dead in the front seat… Mikami respectfully avoided talking about himself, as to not seem self-centered.

While Kiyomi was mid-sentence, talking about her superiority to Misa Amane, Mikami decided in his head, once and for all… he absolutely _must_ give up on Light. Staying hung up on him just _had_ to be bad for Mikami's health… And another, brighter opportunity was staring him straight in the face. He held his breath and went for it, casually reaching behind Kiyomi and resting his arm on her shoulders. She hesitated, blushed, and continued talking. Mikami kept his eyes firmly on hers, listening intently to every word she spoke.

After a while of friendly conversation, Kiyomi found that she had unconsciously scooted closer to him. Her right breast was pressed ever so slightly against Mikami's side, and she noticed with great delight that it did not distract him at all—his eyes were fixed on her own with full attention. She smiled shyly and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you for listening to me…" she said softly.

Mikami shook his head. "And why shouldn't I? You have so much to say, and it's all very interesting…" He placed his head down, gently, atop Kiyomi's, looking sideways at her short, dark hair. She closed her eyes.

"Will you… stay with me?" she asked quietly. Mikami was so much kinder than Light was to her now, and listened to her rather than gawking at her like her former stalkers had. She had thought in her life that Light was the only man she would ever admire. Well, this wasn't her _life_ anymore, and Light ended up different than she imagined… and nobody should be stuck being all alone for eternity, right?

"Of course I will."

* * *

Light opened the door, and walked in before L. As L closed it behind himself, Light spun around to face him.

"L—" Light was about to speak, but found himself instead caught in a sweet-tasting kiss. He blushed profusely, but did not resist. L wrapped his arms around Light, pulling him to himself. As the kiss broke off, Light stared at himself reflected in L's big eyes.

"What…"

"Light." L said, firmly, but not unkindly. Light swallowed.

"Yes…?"

"I love you." As he spoke these words, emotion showed, if only for a second, in L's eyes. Light reddened even more.

Before Light could say anything in response, he was tasting the remnants of the sugary frosting in L's mouth once more. L's arms moved down, and scooped Light up; and he was carried backwards to one of his only pieces of furniture, and by far the most prominent—the large, wooden-framed bed. Light panicked a little bit, but still did not struggle, and was placed gently on his back in the center of it, on top of the thick, black comforter, his head softly dropping onto a dark green goose-down pillow. He stared up at L, who was positioned above him, on all fours, face flushed. L hadn't imagined he would be this embarrassed while he was planning in front of Soichiro's room… it was a miscalculation on his part, but Light seemed too flustered to really care. As long as it stayed that way…

Light swallowed the saliva that was collecting in his mouth due to the light sweetness it had experienced. He had a feeling he knew the gist of what was going to take place, and wasn't sure whether to let it happen, or to expel L from his room in alarm. He decided against the latter, his curiosity getting the better of him as his shirt was gradually unbuttoned by L.

L pulled the two sides of Light's shirt away from each other, exposing Light's pale torso. He stared at the subtle build and, letting his lust lead the way, placed his hand on the soft skin of Light's abdomen. Light flinched nervously at the touch, but _still_ did not object. Instead, he grasped at the bottom of the long sleeve on the arm L was using to support himself above Light. L, either ignoring that, or not noticing, proceeded to lean down and lick Light's chest affectionately, his warm fingers beginning to stroke the area around Light's navel. Light's free hand clenched into a fist as he desperately restrained himself from making any noise as L's tongue slid over his nipple. The resulting cold moisture forced Light to bite his lip in stronger effort to keep from making noise. L's tongue travelled north, up the middle of Light's neck, over his chin, and stopped at his lips in a deep, hot kiss. Now both of Light's hands found their way up to L's head and his fingers slipped through the thick, dark hair as he held their faces together, getting every second he could out of the kiss.

While Light was preoccupied by the kiss, L was skillfully using his feet to unfasten and lower Light's pants. When Light felt the cooler air upon his hips, he gasped, releasing L's head and feebly attempting to resist, though failing: he froze as a hand grasped him somewhere only he had ever touched. He bit his lip once more, but that didn't help this time.

"Nngh—" Light murmured a lusty sound he was not expecting. L, upon hearing it, smirked, continuing to play with Light until Light could no longer stand it. L brought his hand up in front of him, and Light stared up at it, mortified. His discomfiture increased when L began to lick off the mess that had resulted from his toying. After licking his hand thoroughly, L swooped down for another kiss. Light, uncomfortable about the new flavor in L's mouth, broke the kiss off early and turned his head to the side, biting his lip harder than ever.

During the time he was staring away, embarrassed, Light didn't notice L undo his own jeans. The next thing he felt made every muscle in Light's body jerk, his eyes widen, and his mouth to open as if to shout, though he made no vocalization. L laid himself atop Light, his face deep red, and hot, as if he were feverish, though such was not the case. Light closed his mouth and swallowed before breathlessly muttering "Ow." L breathed a laugh and brought Light into another sticky kiss.

* * *

Sometime later on in the night, both L and Light lied breathlessly beside each other underneath the sheet and comforter on Light's large bed. They lay face-to-face with one another, L's arm around Light's waist, skin sticking to the moisture of their combined clammy sweat. L's eyes were shut, but he was still awake, Light knew. Light licked his lips, the flavor of L's spit still upon them.

"L…" Light whispered.

"Yes?" asked L, dark eyes still closed.

"…I love you."

L opened his eyes and smiled at Light, who was flushed, looking sideways onto the pillow his head lay upon.

Other places in Nothingness, Mello and Matt played the newest video games, Matt winning every time (but making sure to give Mello a big hug after each game). Mikami and Kiyomi slept peacefully, holding each other in their arms while sitting up on her sofa. Soichiro Yagami snored alone in a bed as Watari sat nearby, typing something on a computer hooked up to the Nothingness-Wide Web… And the dark fluff of Nothingness's nighttime mode hung about almost ominously, as if foretelling something bad to come… but nobody noticed, in their happy, peaceful afterlives.

_This seems like the last chapter, doesn't it? I don't think it is… but I'll have to think about it. Hmmm…_

_I hope I didn't surpass FFnet's M rating. I wouldn't want to get in trouble!..._


End file.
